Ember of a New World (25 page)

I don't usually have people watching me
, she thought.

The breechcloth looped through the belt in the front and back with extra length hanging loosely. With a fresh breechcloth, she quickly removed her tattered skirt and placed both dirty garments on the dirt floor near the door. Ember quickly wrapped herself in the fur and sat on the mats, but found that
Kis’tra
had turned her head giving her privacy.
Kis’tra
sat on the stump-chair now while Ember sat under a bundle of warm furs feeling more relaxed than she had in a ten-day. The two began speaking to each other, learning words and building their infrequently used skills in a language not native to either of them. For the rest of the day, the two women talked, ate dried deer meat, and drank from water skins. Ember felt her body relaxing under the furs. She might now finally
be able to relax for a while.

Towards the evening,
Kis’tra
's lover Zhek poked his head into the hut and said something in their language.
Kis’tra
spoke back to him in a warm tone with a twang of passion. He gave both women an awkward smile and bowed out quickly, slightly embarrassed. Ember and
Kis’tra
turned to each other and found themselves laughing. Ember was unsure what had been said, but Zhek's awkwardness at seeing the two women was profoundly funny to Ember, for some reason she could not quantify.

“You, Me, Gheve
,
”
Kis’tra
said. Ember understood the first part but not the last word. The two women had been sharing words for much of the day and this had been a frequent situation. Ember produced an exaggerated expression of confusion and replied to
Kis’tra
.

“You, Me, Understand
,
” Ember said,
and then
slowly
repeated the word
, “Gheve?” with a cocked eyebrow.
Kis’tra
quickly picked up a stone from the floor and pretended to eat it while repeating the word.

Oh, then Gheve must mean eat or food. That sounds different from my people's words
, Ember thought. Ember quickly repeated the word back to
Kis’tra
with a look of understanding, while nodding her head.

It must be time for dinner! I wonder what
these people eat? Fish for sure
, s
he pondered as
Kis’tra
motioned her to stand and follow.

Ember carefully stood but nearly fell as her ankle gave way again.
Kis’tra
was there in an instant to catch her.
Kis’tra
helped Ember put on one of
Kis’tra
's other leather shirts, much like the one which
Kis’tra
wore the night before, but with a large blue circle painted on the back. Her soft doeskin shirt was just too dirty to wear, and her skirt was barely holding together.
Kis’tra
quickly placed her hand in a clay jar by the bed and removed her soot and oil covered fingers. She made horizontal streaks anew across her face and dipped her hands in again. She bent forward towards Ember with an inquisitive look. Ember gave a nod and
Kis’tra
started working. Ember nearly giggled with the strange bug-eyed look
Kis’tra
gave with the tip of her tongue poking from her mouth as she carefully
worked to paint Ember's face.

"Eh-yeh!" she said
in her native tongue
and handed Ember a blackened bowl with some water to see her reflection. Ember's slightly reddish stained face now had black lines in wavy patterns. Ember gave her a smile and an approving nod. The rest of her body was still lightly stained purple-red with zigzagging patterns. Ember quickly made to grab the worn skirt, but
Kis’tra
stopped her hand. She presented Ember with an older, but good condition
leather skirt of her own.

“Use
,
”
Kis’tra
said. Ember smiled and nodded. She let the furs she had held around her waist fall as she pulled the skirt quickly around herself. She still had her modesty to consider. Ember looked up and an approving
Kis’tra
and smiled. She supposed the word, or perhaps they were
two
words,
Kis’tra
had used moments ago signaled success or completion. Ember laughed and spoke them.

“Eh-yeh!”

Ember and
Kis’tra
hadn't noticed Zhek. He had
left the hut
, but had quickly returned to grab his sound sticks, sitting by the door to the hut. As he peaked into the hut, he saw the women changing. He stayed for a moment to watch.

Now I have two beautiful women in my hut. Well, I told the guys this trip was a good idea
, Zhek thought jokingly to himself as he quietly snatched his sound sticks and walked away from the hut towards the main fire and the dinner preparations. Zhek doubted that Ember woul
d have watched him strutting ar
ound in only his breechcloth and felt a slight pang of guilt.

As Zhek left the hut, he walked past a young and manipulative woman named Aya. She watched him passing by
,
lost in some thought. Aya was less than friendly to anyone who might take any attention away from her. She had been manipulating several of the men on the journey so far, but with a new woman she had suddenly lost her position as the center of attention. She was a harvest younger than
Kis’tra
with long honey-blonde hair which she kept in several braids. Her eyes were her most striking feature, being large with a bright shade of hazel. Aya spoke her thoughts aloud and without res
ervation as Zhek passed.

“Is that woman coming or have we decided to throw her to the wilds
?
” she said with her painfully obvious disdain for anyone prettier than herself. Zhek walked past the woman rolling his eyes and without answer, his thoughts suddenly broken by Aya's intrusive comment.

Guess who's coming to dinner
…
, he thought with some mirth and a smile.

The exact routes and frequencies of trade in the ancient world are not fully known, but it is interesting that artifacts from the far corners of Europe and Asia have been found all over the continent in burial sites and other digs. Trade in specialty wares was actually quite commonplace in the ancient world. The supposition that people from the north traveled south or from south to the north, quite regularly, isn't a stretch. Less than 2000 years after Ember lived, a man would die in the Ötztal Alps while seemingly conducting long distance trade. He was found crossing the mountains wearing leather clothing only slightly more advanced than Ember's people wore.

Ironically
,
out of the entire group, Ember carried what might have been the most impressive item of trade: a fist sized blue gem of exquisite clarity and color. Perhaps the gem was a massive piece of uncut topaz or perhaps as Ember supposed, it was a piece of hardened water or fallen sky. The coloring would have reminded anyone of ice with a bluish tint. In her nights of fear and days of running
,
she may have forgotten her spoils, taken from the very men who thought to keep her as their own. Unfortunately for Ember, humanity is filled with both good and evil people and those with vile hands work quality crafts against good people. Often, this is service with a smile.

Ember and
Kis’tra
walked from the hut towards the main fire where all of the camp had cleaned and gathered for dinner. It seemed that other meals were eaten alone, but the last meal was shared. This was the way of many tribes; however, Ember's people also ate breakfast communally. The group was just as Ember had
surmised;
many of the people were in pairs, like
Kis’tra
and Zhek, and all from the same tribe, judging by the body colorings and clothing patterns. Ember was greeted with general welcome. Apparently having not stolen anything, even though she had the chance, had done much to earn the trust of these people.

As Ember sat by the fire, the old man who had first poked her with his spear reached over and handed her a reed basket with a few long strips of what looked and smelled like roasted beaver, as well as a lump of
sour grain ma
sh with salt and boiled beans. Ember's people grew beans and stored them, dried, through the cold season. She supposed that these people dried beans and brought them in sacks. Ember had seen no one growing anything.

The older man had light gray-blue eyes which held a powerful spark of intelligence, though he said very little to the group. What hair he had left existed only on the back of his head and had turned a brownish gray color. He wore an ornate leather shirt cut from a dozen or more smaller bits of hide. The shirt had many beads and patterns sewn into it as well as
several feathers hanging from the
arms. His legs were covered by long leather leggings wit
h an extra-wide breechcloth hang
ing from the center. He wore high quality boots made from heavy leather and double wrapped. Ember appreciated the quality of his clothing, which spoke of his standing with his people.

The old man introduced himself to Ember using the trade language. “I-Nor'Gar. I-lead
,
” he said indicating the camp with his hand. Nor'Gar spoke to the group and then to Ember in turns, perhaps translating their conversation. “You,
Kis’tra
, speak, now?” he said, obviously frustrated with his own limited vocabulary.
Kis’tra
nodded and said something to the group, who laughed. Ember gave them a confused look and
Kis’tra
explained.

“New word
s
for-young.
Kis’tra
, not-young
,
” she said and laughed. Ember
was confused by the statement, but semi-
understood now that it was a joke as Nor'Gar had given the task of learning to speak with Ember to
Kis’tra
. Perhaps the funniest parts had been lost in the translation. Ember could tell that these people had a complex and full language, and they were obviously distressed by not being able to speak but a few words with her. Ember hoped that she might stay with these people for a while and perhaps learn some
of their real language, though
she did not expect to become flu
ent anytime soon.

For the remainder of the evening and well into the early night, the group sat and talked.
Kis’tra
would translate between Ember and the group. She was getting much be
tter at handling the language.

“He-say,
what
best good food, Ember?”
Kis’tra
translated for a young man with light red hair and a humorous look about him.

What is my favorite food, huh... well I'll have to give that a
moment’s
thought... before answering you with the words of a child of four harvests
, she mused.

“Berries
,
” she said simply, lacking the vocabulary to add anything more, to which
Kis’tra
frowned.

“No-understand
,
”
Kis’tra
said. Seeing the confusion, Ember pointed to a plate of berries sitting beside the fire. Nor'Gar quickly understood and stepped in with a trans
lation and a smile.

“Oh! Me, yes
,
”
Kis’tra
said to Ember, after Nor'Gar had spoken. At first Ember didn’t understand her but
Kis’tra
made the hand motions of eating berries and Ember thought she understood. This was going to be troublesome, Ember supposed, as some key words were unknown to either group.
She supposed that she would start to understand more as time progressed. Until then, these odd and illogical sentences would continue to come up
. The red headed man shook his head and said something with a
half-smile
which made the gathered women angry. Ember cocked an eyebrow and looked at
Kis’tra
, who had folded her arms
across her chest with a smirk.

“Sv'en-speak, women like only sweet. Sv'en
-say
, men like salt
.
” The red headed man, apparently named Sv'en, nodded in accord with her words, even though he probably didn't know if she was translating truthfully. Sv'en was the man she had seen by the river, whom she had incorrectly th
ought was named Sev'een. Though
most of their jokes were lost on Ember, she had to laugh with these odd but humorous people. Their attempts at humor were nearly as funny as the jokes they
told.

“How-many know trade-words?” Ember asked
Kis’tra
and Nor'Gar.

“More, you!”
said a honey-blonde-haired sly faced woman with an angry tone on the other side of the fire.

Did she mean to say “more than you?”
Ember thought. The woman, her name was Aya, had a generally unpleasant way about her. She had a pretty face that was given to occasional grimace and a general display of arrogance about her. The girl seemed almost angry at Ember and she simply couldn't understand wh
y.

It can't be anything I said since I can barely say anything
, she mused to herself with a chuckle.

Aya had heard enough of this new intruder's laughter and had felt the need to remind everyone of her feelings. Ember was still at a total loss for what was wrong. The camp was quiet for a moment with a few rolled eyes and a confused Ember. After a short moment Nor'Gar told a joke and the talking resumed. Towards the latter part of the meal, as the night took hold of the ca
mp, Nor'Gar passed around a water
skin full of some sort of fermented horror which tasted like death, but left Ember with a rosy feel and a burning belly. Ember almost swooned as the liquid fire rolled down her throat and set her innards aflame. Nor'Gar nearly fell over laughing with the rest of the group
at the sight of Ember trying to hold down the drink
. Ember decided that she would spend some time with these happy, hearty people from somewhere
up
north.
She also thought the drink suddenly tasted l
ess bad than she remembered...

Over the next few days Ember and
Kis’tra
spent
a long while
working on their limited vocabularies and adding a few of
Kis’tra
's words into the mix. As each day passed, Ember proved to the people of the group her worth as she demonstrated her skills with fish
ing, quickly landing a cat fish
a third
of
her weight, and in water deeper than the other women would go. Ember couldn't help but smile as she hauled the large creature from the water.

After all, I am from the People of the Great River
, she mused. Ember spent several long and fun days fishing and cleaning her catches while she talked with others of the group. She learned the names of each member and a little about them. The only exception was Aya, who shunned Ember entirely.
Kis’tra
had been unwilling to fully explain the situation. These people considered some discussion of others private, or so it seemed. Ember was quite confused where Aya was concerned. Perhaps she would eventual
ly figure her out.

Each night
,
the group would dine together on a feast of fresh meats, fish, long tubers and their leaves, lentils, and those tasty beans Ember loved. Some nights
,
be
rries and mussels were eaten, along with
large bowls of fresh cool water. Rarely did Nor-gar pass around the nasty fermented beverage. Ember supposed this was due to the limited supply of the beverage, which had to be carefully made by hand from decaying berries and grains.

On the
fourth
day since joining the group, Ember and
Kis’tra
were walking during their lunch when Ember discovered the source of the beans. Not far from the camp was a small meadow w
h
ere the beans were grown. Standing in the meadow were two of the women, Ana and
Ena
, along with
Ena
's husband Borjk. They stood in a roughly barren area which looked like it had been spot-burned with a small controlled fire.
Ena
held a wooden tool with an antler attached to the end. She was turning the soil near the planted area, while Ana and Borjk bent low picking the beans and tubers. Ember wasn't sure why they dug up the soil before planting. Her people just plopped the seeds into the dirt. Perhaps they would explain this technique to her later. Ember's people had several large growing areas like this one, but much larger. Each season
,
several would be used while several would not be. Over time they would cycle their planting preventing over usage. These people planted a much leaner and less diverse crop as well, but that made sense to Ember as they were only here for about three seasons at the most, barely enough time to grow much.

Ember watched as Borjk, Ana, and
Ena
worked hard on the crops. The weather was growing cooler, but the work in the sun was tough. All three had removed their upper garments and any jewelry they wore, which would only get in the way as they stooped over the ground. Ember caught her eyes lingering on Borjk a little too long and quickly turned them to the harvested crop before
Ena
noticed.

Seeing her interest in their farming, the woman named Ana sat with
Kis’tra
an
d Ember for a short break
to talk about how each of their tribes grew crops. Ember and Ana had a long discussion, translated by
Kis’tra
, about farming techniques and secret tips. Ana was quite interested in farming and a likable person. She explained that the group ate the beans and dried plants they brought until these crops grew. The growth took nearly the entire time they group was camped. The beans would be harvested just before leaving to provide a food source for the remainder of the trip.
Ena
and Borjk listened to the entire discussion, tossing in their own points now and then. The more Ember spoke with these people
,
the more they s
eemed to like her and open up.

After they stopped by the bean and pea field, Ember asked
Kis’tra
to return to her hut. Ember had been having an odd feeling all day and she was now very sure of what the cause might be. Ember had felt the first indications of her pains. Ember was a woman now and for a few
harvests
she had undergone the pains of being a woman. Ember was luckier than most women she knew of, experiencing only a few days of very light discomfort. Unfortunately, the best treatment was to remain in the hut until the event was over with. Ember thanked the Gods she was not like her friend Fire Blossom, who would be stuck in
her hut for five or six days!